


Eggsplanations

by lyingmap



Category: RWBY
Genre: Easter, Gen, Siblings, Surrogate Mom Yang, Young
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-06
Updated: 2015-04-06
Packaged: 2018-03-21 11:23:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3690414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lyingmap/pseuds/lyingmap
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ever since Summer Rose died, Yang has been Ruby's Easter Bunny. One year, when Yang is 12 and Ruby is 10, that's due to change.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Eggsplanations

**Author's Note:**

> So I wrote a thing on Tumblr, that got a stupid number of notes and reblogs. So I wrote a thing based loosely on it.  
> Here's the original: http://plotbunnyfarm.tumblr.com/post/115569740619/when-they-were-growing-up-yang-hid-easter-eggs  
> It's set in the same world as Sporting and Sportsmanship.

Yang crept through the dark, taking extra care to move quietly. Her recent growth spurt had stretched her legs all out of proportion, and she was still learning to walk without tripping. Kickboxing and rockclimbing had started putting muscles on her arms, and the wooden basket that had been comfortably large when she was seven now barely fit on her arm. She shivered in the cold and wished she had thought to put on a jacket or at least shoes. But the back door creaked, and her shoes made too much noise in the gravel outside the back door, and Yang didn't want to risk getting caught. She smiled wryly, thinking of Ruby's joy seeking eggs the next morning, while Yang guzzled tea and tried to stay awake. Every year, Ruby brought her precious finds back to her big sister while Yang lay on the lawn chair and tried to stay awake. Ruby scrupulously split the candy she found with Yang half-and-half, not knowing she was returning half of Yang's carefully hoarded allowance.

 

Yang's bare foot slipped on a patch of wet grass, and she crashed to the ground like a tree, the wooden basket splintering under the impact. Yang swore, then clapped a hand over her mouth and looked back toward the house. No lights lit up, and the blinds of Ruby's room, overlooking the backyard, didn't stir. Yang slowly picked herself up, then shook her head over the shattered remnants of her basket. The basket was the one Summer had been carrying empty when Yang had caught her and her father coming in the back door, six years before. Summer - _mommy_ to Yang, back then - had promised that Yang would get to help plant eggs for Ruby the next year.

 

But Summer hadn't lived to see the end of that year, and so the next year Daddy had given Yang a five-dollar bill for candy, told her where to find the plastic eggs, and retreated to his study for the rest of the day. Yang had run to the store, loaded up on candy, and smuggled it into the house, and into the eggs, without Ruby noticing. That night, she dug her old egg-gathering basket from a closet, and hid candy all around the back yard. Ruby had been overjoyed, hunting eggs from all their hiding places; as far as Yang could tell, Daddy didn't even notice.

 

Now, from the lofty vantage of her twelve years, Yang wondered whether her father didn't notice her efforts to take Summer's place in Ruby's life, or whether being reminded of Summer just hurt him too much to give an effort. Yang didn't blame him for it, not after finding the picture that now rested in her her top dresser drawer, the photo of her birth mother, who had left not long after Yang was born. Their father was a man with a shattered heart, and this year Yang had noticed how he gave her more chores and opportunities to supplement her allowance in the weeks leading up to Easter. She'd earned enough to buy all-new plastic eggs to replace the old fading ones that dated back to Summer's day.

 

Yang shook off ancient angst and turned over the shattered remnants of the basket, wincing as she saw the jagged pieces of brightly colored plastic littering the grass. "No!" she breathed. Two eggs had been shattered by her fall, spilling their precious contents into the wet grass. Yang held a fist to her forehead, biting her lip to keep from shouting in frustration. If Ruby woke up, it would ruin-

 

The back door creaked, and Yang jumped to her feet, whirling to see a slight shape stepping out onto the back patio. "Yang?" Ruby whispered into the night. Yang stood frozen, heart sinking into her stomach, as her sister padded out into the garden. "Yang…" Ruby said as her silver eyes flashed down to the wreckage at Yang's feet, to the wooden handle of the basket still wrapped around Yang's forearm, as Yang braced herself for tears. "Are you the Easter Bunny?"

 

Yang thought about making up some story about seeing the Easter Bunny drop the basket and run off, but decided against it. Yang shook off the notion, and kneeled beside her sister to roll all the intact eggs into a pile. She knew, intellectually, that Ruby had to grow up and learn the truth eventually, she just railed against it being this night, this year. "Yeah… I'm sorry."

 

"Oh." Ruby stepped up to Yang and bent to shovel the broken shards of eggs into the biggest fragment of the basket. The unwrapped chocolate eggs within, after a brief hesitation, went into the pile. "How long have you been playing Easter Bunny? Was it Dad…" Ruby trailed off, her shoulders hunching inward.

 

"Not since Mom died," Yang said quietly, and pulled Ruby into a hug. "I'm sorry, but you were so happy hunting for eggs."

 

"Yeah, that was fun," Ruby whispered, and pushed her face into Yang's shoulder. Yang noticed, but didn't mention, the warm tears brushing trails down her chest and arm. "I'd offer to help hide eggs," Ruby muttered against Yang, "but that would kinda ruin the hunting."

 

"Mhm," Yang nodded. She wondered whether all parents had to go through this explanation, and for a moment hated Summer Rose, for not being present to explain this to Ruby, the way she'd dried Yang's tears that night, and explained why the game wasn't a lie, but an expression of care and love. Yang remembered the warmth and love in Summer's voice - _her mom's_ voice, irrelevant to the lack of blood connection between them - far better than she remembered the exact words that Summer had used. She'd fallen asleep on the couch, between Summer and her father, and had woken up in bed with a plastic egg containing a chocolate on the pillow next to her head. Yang shook off the bad thoughts and held Ruby close. "Next year, if you want, I'll just leave a basket of candy outside your room. With those marshmallow bunnies you like so much."

 

Ruby's embrace tightened sharply, and Yang had trouble breathing. "I love you," Ruby whispered. Then she paused and leaned back, her eyes shining in the moonlight. "Hey, I had an idea."

 

Yang raised her eyebrows. "What is it?"

 

"We can still have the fun. You know the Easter egg hunt in the park?" Ruby pointed down the street, and Yang nodded. "Well, I'd thought the Easter Bunny was slacking off there, because I went to that one last year while you were sleeping, and I could see a bunch of eggs like, right out in the open. So, I was thinking, next year we figure out who's in charge of that and volunteer to help out? See how many we can hide for the little kids?"

 

Yang suppressed a snort of amusement at ten-year-old Ruby's blithe dismissal of "little kids." "Sure. We don't have to wait - I bet we can go over there and find out." She glanced down at Ruby's bare feet. "Go get your shoes on."

 

"Okay," Ruby pushed herself up and scooped up the shattered remnants of basket and eggs. Then she stopped and faced her sister as Yang climbed to her feet. "I still miss Mom a lot," Ruby said, "But thanks for being here, Yang. You're my hero."

 

Yang swallowed the lump in her throat, and smiled. "Thanks, Rubes," Yang said, and ruffled her little sister's hair. "Now get your shoes on, and let's show them how to set up a proper Easter Egg hunt."

 

 


End file.
